Timãozinho gives Copinha to Fiel and makes her smile again – 01/25/2024 – Sport

No fan seems to enjoy the Copa São Paulo juniors as much as Corinthians, who once again celebrated the title of the traditional youth competition. With a 1-0 victory over Cruzeiro, at the Neo Química Arena, on Thursday afternoon (25), the black and white team once again lifted the tournament cup, repeating the triumph they had already achieved on ten occasions.

One of Corinthians’ highlights in the tournament, striker Kayke was responsible for scoring, in the 39th minute of the second half, the goal that defined the champion, after receiving the ball at the edge of the area, taking a short dribble to get rid of the opponent and score a powerful shot into the left corner of goalkeeper Otávio.

“I have no words to explain the moment I’m living in,” the player told TV Globo after the decision. “I want to thank my entire family, who has always been with me, only we know what I went through to be here today,” he added.

The 43,495 fans who went to the east zone arena on the 470th anniversary of the city of São Paulo saw a tough game, in which the goal came after the team found itself under pressure from the visitor for most of the game, especially in the second half , when the team from Minas Gerais was a few times in danger of Felipe Longo’s goal, especially with strikers Arthur and Jhosefer. In Corinthians’ best chance, however, the 19-year-old number 11 was accurate and secured the cup for the home team.

The São Paulo club was crowned for the first time on the Itaquera field. Today commercially named after a pharmaceutical company, the venue hosted the final because Pacaembu, the usual venue for the decisive game, has been under construction since the second half of 2021.

Transferred to the private sector, the once municipal stadium was scheduled to reopen at the end of 2023. The idea was for the Copinha to have its final duel of the 2024 edition in the remodeled space, in the west zone of São Paulo, but there were successive delays, and the FPF ( São Paulo Football Federation), organizer of the championship, was forced to change plans. With Corinthians fighting for the title, Itaquera became the natural choice.

Defeated on the two previous occasions in which they played in the final in their own stadium —in 1973, by Fluminense, and in 1976, by Atlético-MG, in Fazendinha, also in the east zone—, Corinthians did better in the third attempt. Managed by Danilo, multiple champion as a club player in the past decade, he showed strength after moments of difficulty.

Questioned by tough defeats in 2023 and missing players promoted to the professional group, Timãozinho, as the black and white under-20 team is called, was close to elimination in the second phase. They needed penalties to overcome Guarani, before putting together good games — they beat Atlético-GO (4 x 0), CRB (6 x 0), América-MG (2 x 0) and Novorizontino (3 x 0) — and arrive ready for the decision.

With the victory in the final, Corinthians ended their participation in the Copinha with an undefeated campaign. The team had seven wins and two draws, with 25 goals scored and only three conceded.

The result made Fiel smile, with the victory of a tournament that he cherishes so much. The men’s team has not been able to provide the same joy and has not won a title since the 2019 Campeonato Paulista. Only the women’s team, champion of almost everything in recent years, and the futsal team, Brazilian champion in 2022, have won trophies recent.